The smartphone platform warships are steaming into Q2, positioning for what promises to be an interesting battle for the minds and pocketbooks of consumers. In a story published on Friday at the All Thing’s Digital site, Walt Mossberg did a nice job summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of the various smartphone platforms.

For most people following this space, his remarks aren’t new.  But for others, this will be helpful for discussions around the watercooler or dinner table. 

Below are a few of the things Mossberg pointed out in his piece.

• Apple, who pioneered the new generation smartphones with its iPhone, has some fantastic stats:  30 million devices (split 17 million iPhone/13 million iPod Touch), an App Store with 30,000 apps that have been downloaded 900 million times.  Plus wireless sync is available via MobleMe and Microsoft Exchange.

• BlackBerry, by Research in Motion, has a larger installed base (estimated at over 50 million).  They just announced their own app-store.  But the problem is that those apps will only run on the newer BlackBerry devices.  Mossberg stated “its app store, and the apps themselves in many cases, are clumsier and less polished than the iPhone’s. Most of all, the BlackBerry desperately needs a major user-interface overhaul.”

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• He said the plus side for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile is that it has a horizontal strategy, which means its platform is on numerous handsets across a number of carriers.  However, Windows Mobile is dated with a user interface that needs “a major redo.”  He also noted how there wasn’t a killer device on the Windows Mobile platform.

• Google Android running on the “clunky” G1 at T—Moble wasn’t setting the world on fire.

• As for Nokia, he gave them credit for understanding “software and cloud services are key.”  They also have a solid reputation for smartphones with physical keyboards.  However, the Symbian operating system is inferior to Apple or Google’s OS.  Plus, the company’s presence in the U.S. has historically been small.

Mossberg’s Pre View:

Mossberg noted that the Palm Pre and its new webOS “appear to have a real shot at competing with the iPhone and BlackBerry.”  He called out the Pre’s combination of touchscreen and physical keyboard as a strength.  On the down side, he noted the usual suspects:  Sprint as the carrier and Palm running on fumes financially.  Palm will have to mount a costly marketing campaign to match the advertising machines of Apple, RIM and Microsoft. And it may need financial incentives to tempt developers to write apps for the Pre.

As expected, there are no answers (or even predictions of success) in this overview of smartphone platform battleships.  Tricia Duryee’s in her comments that appeared in a story published on Sunday at MocoNews, stated how this is turning into a somewhat religious debate. 

And we thought the Mac vs. PC wars were bad.  This could be the mother of all wars.

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Dieter posted a story yesterday (Sprint: The Network for People with ADD, the Pre) about Sprint’s new ad campaign that mostly remarked about content.  Another thing worth noting is that business press is sitting up and taking notice of Sprint’s “hipper advertising.”

In The Wall Street Journal on Monday, Suzanne Vranica’s story in the Advertising section, titled “Sprint Touts Its Network’s Might: New Campaign Highlights Growing Volume of Data Coursing Over Cellphones,” delves into some details about the “Now Network” campaign.

It quotes Rich Silverstein, co-chairman of Omnicom Group’s Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the San Francisco agency that created the campaign, saying that "Now Network stands for the crazy amount of data that gets pushed through these cellphones now, such as Twitter, Google and GPS.  It’s no longer just about calling."
 

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Though nothing new for most who follow this space, to the business and advertising community, this is a big deal.  It also seems to be quite significant that this campaign is replacing the long run of Dan Hesse (the CEO of Sprint), black and white, straight talk ads.

Mike Goff, Sprint’s vice president of national advertising was quoted saying the move was intentional and had nothing to do with the current environment. "We want to continue to keep our advertising fresh," said Mr. Goff who added that Mr. Hesse could be used in future ads.

The "Now Network" push includes TV, online, outdoor and print ads.  Though the company didn’t say how much was being spent, the article notes that Sprint “shelled out close to $1 billion on U.S. ads last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence.”

Back to the “hipper” thing…

Got Milk?,  the Slowskys, the “Computer is Personal” HP ads, the Super Bowl ads for Cheetos and Dennys, the Quaker Oats “Go humans go” campaign, and the new ear worm ads for C-O-M-C-A-S-T, are all products of Goodby Silverstein & Partners.   Remember the Budweiser lizards?  They did that too.  They were also named Agency of the Year by AdWeek in 2008.  The point being – Sprint and Palm Pre are in good hands (budget willing).

So it looks like Sprint/Palm are trying to cover all bases:  cool smartphone, cool OS, the first 4G network, improved service, and now hip ads from a very hip agency that clearly has been turned loose creatively.  

The business community and anyone who follows the advertising space is paying attention to Sprint/Palm now…  Now where’s the Pre?  

Alas the Pre Watch continues…

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We told you way way back in January that there would be a solution to sync your Palm Desktop, Outlook, and other PIM data from the desktop to your Pre via CompanionLink.  Now the company, a provider of synchronization solutions, has announced today that they are guaranteeing that standalone Microsoft Outlook users will have a two-way sync solution available when the Palm Pre launches.

The method: Outlook to Google, Google to the Pre.  CompanionLink for Google ($29.95) offers a two-way sync solution between Microsoft Outlook and Google, which lets users seamlessly sync their contacts, calendar and tasks to Google.

Gayland Bruns, CEO of CompanionLink Software, noted that during CTIA,  the Palm Pre product manager, Tim Pettitt, was demoing the Palm Pre Calendar application and discussing its sync capabilities to Google during CTIA 2009.

Bruns remarked:

“Since CompanionLink already supports Outlook to Google sync, it means Synergy/Outlook users will have the ability to get their desktop contacts and calendar information on their Palm Pre phones on the same day that the Palm Pre launches."

More information is available at www. companionlink.com/google.
 

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Dan Frommer of the Silicon Alley Insider had an interesting story about how both Palm and Sprint aren’t letting reporters touch or hold the Palm Pre.  Two examples he mentioned were Bonnie Cha of CNET and Citi analyst Jim Suva.

He noted:

At CES, GSMA 2009, and now CTIA, the companies have required that a Palm or Sprint representative have at least one hand on the smartphone at all times even when we’re just trying to take pictures and we’re not allowed to touch certain functionalities…

But alas, there is apparently good reason for this – it’s all about being fair.  

An unnamed spokesperson for Palm said that since the device isn’t yet available, they are trying to make sure “no particular person gets more time with it than others.”

Fair enough.  Although it does make me wonder how they’ll handle reviewers when the Palm Pre starts rolling off the production line.  Surely there will be a huge number of folks vying to be the first to post “First Look” stories.  How the heck will Palm and Sprint handle “fairness” then?

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I went to Moscone to witness the Palm’s keynote at Web 2.0 Expo first hand.  
Michael Abbott, Palm’s senior vice president of Applications Software and Services, was slated to start at 5:10pm and run for 10 minutes.  When I arrived, it was clear the schedule had slipped out 15 minutes.   He delivered a 7-minute presentation that started and ended with “why Palm is here.”  To talk directly to developers about webOS and the transformative change it is bringing to the mobile platform.

Palm put out a press release, and a follow-up blog post that covered what happened.  The biggest news from the keynote was the invite to apply for the early access program at the Palm Developer Network website.

In my opinion, the second biggest news was the turnout and air of excitement.  The third floor of Moscone West was absolutely buzzing during the keynote and after with Palm’s reception drawing a huge crowd.

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I also had a chance to speak with Paul Cousineau, Palm’s director of product management (see below).  He said they are taking applications for this developer program starting tonight and they’d be reviewing applicants in the morning.  He talked about how they wanted to go slow and make sure they got a good group that would drive the process – which to me sounded like they were trying to beta test the SDK so that things would go smoothly when it was in general release.

The emphasis was on ensuring a good experience – for developers and users.

BTW.  Saw the big boss, Palm’s CEO Ed Colligan working the room. 

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Buried on the bottom of a post that looks like yet another April Fool’s joke (with the title of “Watch this space: No foolin’ ”), Palm’s Jon Zilber snuck in this tidbit:

“… we thought we’d give you a heads-up (for reals) to check back later today (or follow palm_inc on Twitter) for an update direct from the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco.”

Over at Wired.com, in Michael Calore wrote that Palm is “expected to make the developer’s kit for its new WebOS smartphone operating system available as a public download Wednesday afternoon.”  He is referring to the Mojo SDK, which developers can use to build native applications for the Pre smartphone and other devices running the WebOS software.

Putting 2 and 2 together, it seems to make sense.  As mentioned yesterday, Michael Abbott, Palm’s VP of application platform and services development for WebOS, will be doing a keynote presentation at 5:10pm during the Web 2.0 Expo which is co-produced by O’Reilly Media.

It’ll be interesting to hear what Abbott has to say and especially what his pitch to developers will be (Okay, in this forum–keynote at Web 2.0– he can’t make a pitch per se.  But he can make a compelling argument to get developers to embrace yet another platform since WebOS joins Apple iPhone and Google’s Android).

Stay tuned… or, as Palm’s Zilber suggests, follow along on Twitter later today.

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CTIA Wireless 2009 starts tomorrow in Las Vegas.  Traditionally held in the spring, it is considered the largest and most comprehensive trade show in the wireless industry. CTIA -The Wireless Association®, which represents carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers, is expecting over 1000 exhibitors and up to 40,000 attendees.  That number could be considerably less due to the economy.

Many of those on “Pre Watch” have been sort of willing something to happen in Vegas that won’t stay in Vegas.  For example, two weeks ago, Phil Goldstein in his CTIA Preview piece at FierceWireless that was titled, “Palm may dominate a low-key CTIA,” wrote:

“One announcement that may be made is the pricing and a launch date for the Palm Pre, which Sprint Nextel is expected to launch sometime in the second quarter. So far, few details have emerged.”

He also quoted Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis, who said, "I don’t know if they’re going to announce anything. I haven’t seen any major presence from Sprint," Greengart said. "I don’t necessarily expect them to announce anything."

That seems to be the general consensus around here.

We do know that Sprint will be showcasing the device in its “Pre VIP Lounge.”

CNET’s Bonnie Cha, in a post appearing last Friday (“Palm Pre vs. iPhone 3G: Which do you want?”), noted:

“Both Palm and Sprint will be in Las Vegas for the show, but the companies don’t have any news conferences or major events scheduled–just an invite-only VIP Lounge where they’ll have the Palm Pre on display.”

While stating how she hoped we will learn some new information at CTIA (pricing, release date), she also remarked that, “there comes a point where the canned responses get old and things like the Webcast look like a stalling method or shameless self-promotion. I think it’s pretty safe to say, we’re at that point, and the masses are getting restless.”

There are a lot of us who second that emotion.

The good news is that our own Dieter Bohn has landed in Vegas and will be working the show hard.  Keep checking back for updates from him.

Note:  For those of you unfamiliar with what CTIA Wireless 2009 is all about, you can learn more here and here.

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While all eyes seem to be on Las Vegas where CTIA Wireless 2009 will be held this Wednesday through Friday, in San Francisco, the Web 2.0 Expo that is co-produced by O’Reilly Media and TechWeb, started today and runs through Friday. 

Tomorrow, Mike Abbott, SVP of Application Software and Services for Palm is scheduled to do a keynote presentation at 5:10pm where he will address “how webOS will change the way users and developers think about mobile web experiences.”

Palm is sponsoring an Opening Reception starting at 5:30pm, which probably means Abbot’s talk will last 20 minutes or so.

The Web 2.0 Expo is described as being “a place for creativity, engineering, and innovation.” The conference program will be focusing on five main conference tracks: Strategy & Business Models, Marketing & Community, Design & User Experience, Fundamentals, and Development.  There will also be five mini focus tracks: Focus on Web Operations, Focus on Mobile, Focus on Security, Focus on Web 2.0 at Work, and Focus on Government 2.0.

Chances are, there won’t be much new to report.  One of the things we will be watching for is the reaction of the attendees to what Abbott has to say.

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It was brought to my attention that there was a “Palm Pre preview Review” posted on CNET UK’s site.  Curious, I went out and took a look.

Reviewed by Bonnie Cha?  How did she get a hold of… ?

I quickly went out to CNET and found the review that she did on January 9.

Aha!  Simpatico!

Looks like Charles Kloet grabbed Bonnie Cha’s first look and massaged it with some “additional editing” into a “preview Review.”  Interesting indeed.

So for anyone wanting a refresher of what was said back in January, check out what was posted today at CNET UK.  However, for anyone hungry for new news, the wait continues.

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Seems like Deutsche Bank analysts Jonathan Goldberg and Chris Whitmore got some folks fired up by (a) raising their target price for PALM stock $2 to $12, and (b) stating the Pre timetable was on track, and (c) there may be other products in the pipeline earlier than expected.

The ongoing speculation about the Pre’s arrival has a “Punxsutawney Phil” feel to it.  You know…  If Phil sees his shadow, there will be 12 more weeks until the release of the Palm Pre. If he does not see his shadow, it will arrive early.

Anyway, back to the lead story and its ripple effects…  

All Thing’s Digital’s John Paczkowski, in his Digital Daily column, provided some more details of what Goldberg and Whitmore put in their note to investors:

“Since their earnings release last week, we have conducted a round of checks on Palm and remain confident in the potential for their new Pre smartphone to turnaround the company’s results.”

“The Pre timetable seems on track at least, and both carrier and developer interest remains high….We also confirmed earlier checks and vague hints on their recent call that the company is working on other form factors which we could see in the market sooner than expected.”
 

Music to an investor’s ears, right?

Paczkowski, who seems to include the “believe it or not I’m walking on air” guy in all his Palm-related posts, pointed out that not everyone shares the view of these Deutsche Bank analysts.  Apparently Needham analyst Charlie Wolf believes Palm may already be fully valued even if the Pre turns into a stunning success.

Hold on.  Looks like there are parallel stories running here.  Many Palm fans and tech gadget aficionados are pulling for the company to get back in the game with a product (or series of products) that is a “stunning success.”  That would be huge.

The other story has to do with riding the hot stock, right?  So how high will Palm’s stock go?  Is there money to be made?  And when PALM levels off, what will the next “hot” stock be.

So what’s your preference?

a)  Palm Pre is a stunning success
b)  Palm’s stock explodes through the roof
c)  All of the above
d)  Other

Don’t be looking to Phil for answers here.  He’s only programmed to predict arrival, not success.

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